Cover: Lee Weeks & Al Williamson

Daredevil #285

Oct 1990 · Marvel · 1.00 USD; 1.25 CAD; 0.60 GBP

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“The Shadowman”

★ 1st appearance — Nyla Skin

About this Issue

Daredevil #285 is a pivotal chapter in Ann Nocenti's closing arc on the title, presenting one of the most psychologically inventive uses of Bullseye in the character's history: with Matt Murdock rendered amnesiac and drifting through Hell's Kitchen believing himself to be his deceased father 'Battlin' Jack Murdock, Bullseye seizes the vacuum and prowls the city in the Daredevil suit, actively working to corrode the hero's hard-won reputation. The issue also marks the first appearance of Nyla Skin, a street-survivor character who befriends and shelters the lost Matt Murdock, grounding the surreal identity-swap storyline in gritty social texture. This Bullseye-impersonates-Daredevil premise proved durable enough that it served as a direct source for the central plot of Netflix's Daredevil Season 3, connecting a relatively under-discussed corner of the Copper Age run to a major live-action production decades later.

In "The Shadowman," Matt Murdock grapples with his identity as Bullseye dons the Daredevil mantle and stalks the streets of New York. Written by Ann Nocenti and illustrated by Lee Weeks, with inks by Al Williamson and colors by Max Scheele, this issue captures a tense, introspective turn in the series, with the cover by Weeks and Williamson perfectly framing the shadowed stakes.

writer Ann Nocenti · artist Lee Weeks · inker Al Williamson · colorist Max Scheele · letterer Jack Morelli · cover Lee Weeks, Al Williamson

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (VF) $5

CGC 9.8 · 7 in census $49

CGC 9.6 · 3 in census $23*

CGC 9.4 · 8 in census $20*

CGC 9.2 none in existence

CGC 9.0 none in existence

CGC 8.5 · 3 in census $20*

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CGC 8.0 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 7.5 none in existence

CGC 7.0 none in existence

CGC 6.5 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 6.0 none in existence

CGC 5.5 none in existence

CGC 5.0 none in existence

CGC 4.5 · 1 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

More listings for this title

FN · Newsstand $2 VF $2.49 FN/VF $2.75 VF $3.3 VERY FINE $3.59 VF $3.9 VF $4 NM- $4

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History

The issue was written by Ann Nocenti — who inherited the title directly after Frank Miller's 'Born Again' and steered it from 1986 through 1991 (issues #236–291) — with pencils by Lee Weeks, inks by Al Williamson, colors by Christie Scheele (credited as Max Scheele on some indexes), and letters by Jack Morelli, under editor Ralph Macchio and editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco. Weeks had only just joined the book with issue #284, making #285 among his earliest pages on Daredevil; he would later become a defining artist for the character. The amnesia arc spanning roughly issues #284–290 was Nocenti's final longform story on the title, written under the creative pressure of concluding a five-year run while simultaneously handing the series off to incoming writer D.G. Chichester.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Nyla Skin (Earth-616), a homeless young woman who befriends and shelters the amnesiac Matt Murdock, created by Ann Nocenti and Lee Weeks.
Bullseye, exploiting Daredevil's amnesia, dons the red suit and parades through New York City as Daredevil — one of the earliest extended impersonation storylines for the villain.
Matt Murdock appears throughout the issue not as himself but as 'Jack Murdock,' his late father, reflecting his complete loss of identity following a prior encounter with Mephisto.
Written by Ann Nocenti (Daredevil #236–291, 1986–1991), penciled by Lee Weeks, inked by Al Williamson — one of Weeks's first issues on the title.
Published with a cover date of October 1990; released on newsstands in August 1990; Tom DeFalco served as Marvel Editor-in-Chief, Ralph Macchio as series editor.
The issue is part of the story arc collected in Daredevil Epic Collection Vol. 15: Last Rites (2020), which gathers Daredevil #283–300 and Annual #7.
The arc's core premise — Bullseye impersonating Daredevil to destroy his reputation while the real Matt Murdock suffers amnesia — was cited as a key comic-book source for the central storyline of Netflix's Daredevil Season 3 (2018).
Three international reprints documented: in Daredevil (Semic S.A., 1989 series) #16 (France, 1992), Fantastici Quattro (Edizioni Star Comics, 1988 series) #105 (Italy, 1993), and Superaventuras Marvel (Editora Abril, 1982 series) #144 (Brazil).